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SALT LAKE CITY A Utah dad foiled an attempt to kidnap his young daughter from her bed early Friday after confronting a man carrying her across the lawn.

The 5-year-old girl wasnt hurt in the frightening experience, but the incident has evoked haunting echoes of when 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart was snatched out of her Salt Lake City bedroom in 2002. She was held captive for nine months before being found.

The suspect in this case entered the home through an unlocked door or window about 4:30 a.m. in Sandy, a middle-class suburb south of Salt Lake City, Police Sgt. Dean Carriger said.

The intruder was in the familys basement searching through things when he came upon the girl sleeping in her bedroom, Carriger said. The suspect took her out of bed and carried her upstairs, making noises that woke the parents.

The girls father went to the door and saw the man carrying his daughter in the front lawn. He ran outside and confronted the man, wrestling away his daughter.

The suspect then fled, and the father called 911.

Officers set up a perimeter, and with the help of police dogs, launched a search. The suspect went into a second home, where the residents heard him and called police.

Police captured the 46-year-old man outside that second home thanks to a police dog that bit the suspect in the upper shoulder, Carriger said.

The family told police they had never seen and dont know the suspect, who police have identified as Troy Morley of Roy, Utah. Police dont know yet why the suspect was in the house or if he had a planned it, Carriger said.

Morley is still at the hospital receiving medical treatment for the dog bite but is expected to be arrested later Friday and booked on charges of child kidnapping and burglary.

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Dad confronts kidnapper, saves 5-year-old daughter

WASHINGTON (AP) Offering a pre-Veterans Day salute to U.S. troops, President Barack Obama said Thursday that the "American patriots" who voluntarily go into harm's way to keep the country safe and protect its cherished freedoms have the respect and admiration of a grateful nation.

The commander in chief also spoke movingly of having met a service member who was left on death's doorstep after being wounded in an explosion during his fifth tour of duty in Afghanistan, and how that individual was brought back to life, in part, through hours and hours of music therapy.

"He's even playing, as I understand it, a little bit of golf," Obama said as he opened a musical tribute to service members, veterans and their families. "We honor them with the beauty of music, music that has the power to inspire us and fill us with pride and, yes, sometimes to help us heal."

The program is the latest edition in the PBS series "In Performance at the White House." It was taped inside of a large tent erected on the South Lawn with a view of the White House, and was attended by first lady Michelle Obama, Cabinet secretaries and several hundred service members, veterans and families.

It was scheduled to be broadcast Friday on PBS stations nationwide.

The night featured rock and roll by the band Daughtry, performing via satellite from a USO concert in Japan, and country music from Willie Nelson. Hip-hop artist Common, singer Mary J. Blige, John Fogerty and Latin musician Romeo Santos also performed.

Obama said the mix of rock, country and everything in between was "fitting because here in America, no matter where you're from, no matter what music you listen to, we're all united in our respect and admiration for our brave men and women who wear our country's uniform."

Obama has said lifting up those men and women is one of his top priorities.

He met Wednesday with the top two officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Secretary Robert McDonald and Sloan Gibson, the deputy secretary, urging both to continue working to improve services, health care and accountability for veterans, the White House said.

Obama also regularly touts administration efforts to cut the staggering backlog of disability claims filed by veterans, reduce homelessness among them and help veterans, their spouses and children pursue higher education under the post-9/11 GI bill.

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Obama, first lady salute 'American patriots'

UNIQLO | HEATTECH - Derek Lee - Landscape Architect
Less layers. More freedom. One thin HEATTECH layer gives you warmth without weight. HEATTECH: LESS IS WARM. Shop Women #39;s HEATTECH: http://goo.gl/feLGYj Shop ...

By: UNIQLO UK

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UNIQLO | HEATTECH - Derek Lee - Landscape Architect - Video

TULSA, Oklahoma -

Can a park transform a city?

The man whose firm is behind the design for Tulsa's Gathering Place says it can.

Michael Van Valkenburgh has become one of the world's most acclaimed landscape architects by stressing that parks are more than just a collection of trees and swing sets. He believes they're a place for people, where strangers can mingle and interact and build a better city in the process.

To get a sense of what's coming to Tulsa, I met Van Valkenburgh in Brooklyn, New York, his home, where his firm has turned an industrial wasteland into a vibrant piece of urban life.

The sounds of a park in the middle of America's greatest city a park with a heart-stopping view of that city are the sounds that tell Van Valkenburgh he's done his job well.

This is something that people want to embrace, it's all around us, he said. People having a good time, around other people they don't know. People like being around people.

First and foremost, America's leading landscape architect considers himself in the people business.

Whether it's at Brooklyn Bridge Park, Pennsylvania Avenue out front of the White House, Harvard Yard, the Gateway Arch grounds in St. Louis, the George W. Bush library, and soon, Tulsa's Gathering Place, Van Valkenburgh is at the top of his game and his profession - at a time of exciting renewal for American cities.

I feel very lucky as a landscape architect that I'm alive and doing this work at a time when people are so interested in what makes cities a good place to live, he said.

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Architect Behind Tulsa's Gathering Place Believes It Could Be City's Centerpiece

Photo from Sue Present

The Oakview community pool is closed. Parents are worried that standing water in the large pool might be a safety hazard for children at Roscoe Nix Elementary School.

A community pools dilapidated appearance is worrying Silver Spring residents who believe its a safety hazard for children at a nearby elementary school.

Now a diesel generator will be placed on the the Oakview pool property, which is across from the Roscoe Nix Elementary School parking lot.

The Montgomery Board of Appeals is debating Verizons request to expand the cell tower equipment compound at 1101 Corliss St. in Silver Spring from 843 to 1,473 square feet. A public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 12.

The primary concern is whether Verizons request interferes with school traffic.

If approved, the diesel fuel generator would move across the back of the elementary school parking lot through a new access gate, where the larger and adjacent kiddy pools are located.

Because of its proximity to the school, Janis Zink Sartucci of the Parents Coalition of Montgomery County, who is opposed to the expansion, believes it heightens commercial traffic near the school. Its particularly dangerous if the gate at the back of the pool is left unlocked, she said.

My guess is it can be unlocked at any time. Its just a deadbolt, she said. A kid comes in and then they could climb out and leave and theyve unlocked the door, with no maintenance of the pool area, with no one checking daily that door can be unlocked today.

The cell tower equipment expansion and the lack of maintenance is an ongoing problem that the Parents Coalition hopes the board of appeals will address.

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Expansion of cell tower equipment at Oakview Community Pool raises concerns -- Gazette.Net

PETALING JAYA, Malaysia - Greenhouse farming, encroachment on river reserves and land clearing are among the activities that caused the floods and mudslide at several areas in Cameron Highlands, an enviromental group said.

Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands (Reach) president R. Ramakrishnan said the filters used by greenhouse farmers on their crops caused an unnatural flow of water into the river bed.

"They use plastic to cover and protect the crops and the water flowing from it goes into the riverbed.

"When the river cannot accommodate the extra water, there will be flash floods," Ramakrishnan told The Star.

The Star had previously highlighted in a series of articles the massive land clearing and development in Cameron Highlands.

Ramakrishnan also said there was no longer land available for agricultural purposes as the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry had ruled that such land was only suitable in areas with gradients below 20 degrees.

He estimated that the current erosion rate in the area was about 200 tonnes per hectare per year.

Tanah Rata assemblyman Leong Ngah Ngah cited over development, land clearing and heavy rainfall among the factors for the incident.

He said there have been a lot of development over the past years.

"Unchecked land clearing also cause destruction to water retention areas, causing rivers to swell.

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Reach: Floods and mudslide caused by several factors

News Desk

The Star

Publication Date : 07-11-2014

Greenhouse farming, encroachment on river reserves and land clearing are among the activities that caused the floods and mudslide at several areas in Cameron Highlands, an enviromental group said.

Regional Environmental Awareness Cameron Highlands (Reach) president R. Ramakrishnan said the filters used by greenhouse farmers on their crops caused an unnatural flow of water into the river bed.

They use plastic to cover and protect the crops and the water flowing from it goes into the riverbed.

When the river cannot accommodate the extra water, there will be flash floods, Ramakrishnan told The Star.

The Star had previously highlighted in a series of articles the massive land clearing and development in Cameron Highlands.

Ramakrishnan also said there was no longer land available for agricultural purposes as the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry had ruled that such land was only suitable in areas with gradients below 20 degrees.

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Floods and mudslide in M'sia caused by several factors, says expert

Translated by DOMINIC LOH Sin Chew Daily

PETALING JAYA, Nov 6 (Sin Chew Daily) -- After almost a year, the mudslide occurred in Cameron Highlands again. The two tragic incidents nevertheless have many things in common, and we cannot help to speculate whether what happened were actually man-induced disasters instead of natural disasters.

Senior Meteorological Officer of the National Weather Centre, Dr Mohd Hisham Mohd Anip told Sin Chew Daily today the rainfall at Cameron Highlands yesterday was 80mm lasting for over four hours. However he said the rainfall was considered normal for the monsoon season and should not have caused the mudslide.

He also rebuked talks of natural disaster, saying the mudslide yesterday had something to do with the high water level at Sultan Abu Bakar Dam.

Two days earlier, TNB generation division senior general manager (asset management) Azman Talib warned that a mudslide could occur in Cameron Highlands any time.

Recurrence in one year

Early last October, the most severe mud flood in history took place in Cameron Highlands, and the incident recurred barely a year later. This time, the site of disaster was near Ringlet new village, about 4km from last year's disaster zone.

Last year, the rain fell for seven hours but the rain only lasted for four hours this year.

Azman said two days before the mudslide that the Ringlet Lake adjoining Sultan Abu Bakar Dam was filled with garbage that had piled up to almost two storeys high that could fill at least 100 football stadia!

He said the domestic and agricultural wastes disposed by local residents were ten times more than before, up from 30,000 cubic meters in 1960 to 300,000 cubic meters today, adding that this had made the garbage clearing work much more complicated and costly.

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Indiscreet dumping, land clearing the culprits

November 7, 2014

Teresa Kok says menteri besar admitted to being aware of stripped forests yet did nothing about it.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Pahang state government has indirectly admitted it failed to prevent excessive land-clearing in Cameron Highlands which resulted in the tragic mud floods in Ringlet, DAP vice-chairman Teresa Kok said today.

Kok said Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob had acknowledged the fact that excessive land-clearing resulted in the mud flow but still did not take any action.

Adnan had said he had surveyed Cameron Highlands many times by air and noticed that the forests had been stripped bare due to excessive land-clearing, whether done legally or illegally.

He also admitted that the state government had done nothing to check the situation for fear that the people would immediately attack and blame the government for being uncaring.

Kok said Adnans remarks were merely to divert attention that the state government had failed in its responsibility to prevent excessive land-clearing.

She said Adnan was also admitting that the government had failed to carry out enforcement.

Does he think that he can convince the public that due to the governments fear of being criticised, the state government has refrained from doing what it should do? she asked.

Kok said the occurrence of mud flows would prevent tourists from visiting Cameron Highlands, which was one of the most popular tourists spots in Malaysia.

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Pahang govt indirectly admits to causing mud flood

Fifth Episode: Elisabeth Malphettes the Interior designer of the Hotel Napoleon.
Inspired by the Empire style, Mrs Malphettes introduces you in Hotel Napoleon atmosphere.

By: hotelnapoleonparis

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Fifth Episode: Elisabeth Malphettes the Interior designer of the Hotel Napoleon. - Video